


Teacup Redux

by rebel_diamond



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, OUAT remix with Gideon in the role of Henry and Rumbelle instead of Snowing as the main couple, Rumbelle - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-04-19 02:26:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14227089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebel_diamond/pseuds/rebel_diamond
Summary: Rumpelstiltskin trains half-sisters Regina and Zelena in order to cast the curse that will reunite him with his son. In the meantime, he gains a young maid. When he and Belle fall in love and have a son, Rumple calls off the curse. But the two sisters, feeling betrayed, cast the curse anyway, separating true love and raising Gideon themselves. In Storybrooke, a ten year old Gideon gets a book from a pretty librarian and he begins to suspect there’s something magical about his town.





	1. Chapter 1

“When do you think he’ll be home?”

Her half-sister’s voice jerked Regina out of the chant they were trying to perform. She glared at the redhead who had already turned away from her and was looking out the window anxiously. Regina dropped her hands which were hanging uselessly in the air where her sister’s had been. “Will you concentrate, please?” she pleaded. “And this is not our home!” she added. “I swear, Zelena, if you ruin this for me…” she warned. Regina was single-minded in her pursuit of casting this curse. It was the curse that was going to allow her to get revenge on Snow White. And she couldn’t very well channel her anger productively with her sister jabbering on. And, unfortunately, her sister was required to perform the spell. She wasn’t yet strong enough to do it on her own. “Rumpelstiltskin left us here to practice while he ran an errand, and I’d like to have something to show for it when he gets back,” she offered her hands to Zelena again.

“It’s just that…he’s been gone for such a long time,” she fretted instead. At that they heard the great doors of the Dark Castle creak open. Zelena lit up as the sound, smoothing her skirt and fluffing her hair. They both turned toward the entrance of the room. Instead, two sets of footsteps crossed the great hall and passed the door of the study they practiced in. The sisters exchanged a confused glance, hurrying to the door and peaking out. Rumpelstiltskin strolled past, a young brunette in a billowing gold dress that looked like it weighted one hundred pounds scurried behind him. She peeked around the castle walls curiously as they went.

Zelena’s eyes narrowed, “Who’s she?”

“Someone come to make a deal, most likely,” Regina shrugged, returning to her practice. She levitated the pokers from next to the fireplace, flinging them into a wall sconce expertly.

***  
“She hasn’t left,” Zelena stormed into the training room days later, when they’d returned for another instruction session.  
“Who?” Regina struggled to hold her mental grip on a trunk she was lifting.

“The girl. I saw her, wandering up from the dungeons! She didn’t see me but it was the same girl. Who wouldn’t recognize that dress?” she grumbled to herself. “I think she’s living here!” She took a step back. “Mother didn’t have another daughter, did she?”  
“No,” Regina responded decisively.

Zelena huffed. She may the older sister but Regina had always been the favorite. Regina could withstand a threat to her status, but Zelena couldn’t. She knew people only looked at her in relation to how she could assist Regina. Even though she’d continually outperformed her on a regular basis. It was still always about Regina. Regina was supposed to be queen. Regina was supposed to cast the curse. Zelena, the gardener’s spawn, while Regina was Prince Leopold’s regal daughter. Rumpelstiltskin would ultimately chose her though, Zelena would make sure of it. And that including eliminating any potential dangers to her current spot.

“She’s competition. He wants to replace us,” Zelena squawked. A panic rose up in her chest. She couldn’t lose this opportunity. She couldn’t lose him. She knew the first time he'd called her dearie and looked at her with such interest that he was the one for her. The way he'd leaned in so close when he’d blindfolded her in the forest and had her locate him was downright flirtatious. And they had so much in common. They were both loners abandoned as children. He’d even shared with her his happiest memory. He'd never shared that with anyone, she was sure of it. The first lesson he’d taught her was that magic isn't about what you see, it's what you feel inside. And she felt love and true devotion to him.

As if she’d conjured him, Rumpelstiltskin strolled into the room looking as disinterested as always, which only made her want to work harder to impress him, to see that look he gave her when he’d first mistaken her for her sister again.

“Who is she?” the words tumbled out of her mouth, accusing.

He opened his mouth, only to snap it shut, “No concern of yours.” He took in the sisters, facing him in complimentary waring stances.

He'd been working on this curse for a very long time. The day he’d let go of his son’s hand, watching him disappear through the portal and into a world without magic and calling him a coward had haunted him ever since. It was the last and only deal he’d ever broken. When he learned from the Blue Fairy that there existed a curse that could take him to the same land, he’d devoted himself to gathering the ingredients. He foresaw it was Cora's daughter who would cast the curse. Imagine his surprise to learn Cora had two daughters. Luckily he saw early on how powerful the two can be together. So he’d hedged his bets and trained them both. Two chances to teach the art of magic and feed their hatred, molding them into what he needed them to be to reunite him with his son.

Zelena was immediately more powerful and picked up spells quicker than Regina. But she was possibly too emotionally unstable to be controlled, and a bit too clingy. He might have to abandoned her in favor of Regina in the end but so far the sibling rivalry was working in his favor.

“Just how many of us are you training?” Regina demanded. The curse must be hers or she wouldn’t get her revenge. When they released it and tore everyone from the Enchanted Forest and exiled them to a land where all of the Enchanted Forest's residents will be imprisoned and frozen in time, all of their happiness taken away, then she could finally be at peace.

“Yeah,” Zelena rejoined, “we are not a harem.”

“Then quit acting like one,” he spat back. “If you’re going to do something constructive, use that anger to practice your freezing spells.”


	2. Chapter 2

_Storybrooke, Maine_

“And they lived happily ever after. The end.”

Gideon, lingering in the stacks, heard the librarian snap the book shut. Another storytime has drawn to a close. He listened the the rustle of adults struggling to climb up off the floor. Children, no longer being shushed by their parents, began to cry to attention.. Kids scattered around the children’s section yanking picture books off the shelves. At ten, Gideon was much too old for Storytime, but secretly he still enjoyed it. He liked the stories the librarian chose. The knights were always brave, the dragons fierce, and the good guys always won. Most of all, he liked the way she read. He like to curl up in the corner of the shelves and let the sing-songy lilt of her accent wash over him. It was very calming to him. So he always came to the library around storytime. He'd crouch down in the graphic novel or nonfiction section so he could overhear her tell her story.

“Gideon!” she greeted when he emerged from his hiding spot. If she noticed that his visits always overlapped with storytime, she didn’t let on.

“Hello, Miss French.” His Aunt Regina had ingrained in him to be respectful to his elders. So he called her "Miss French" even though she had told him many times that he could call her Belle.

Belle - he allowed himself to call her that in his head at least, like they were friends - gave him a warm smile. She always gave the warmest smiles. She was nice to everyone, but he liked to pretend that her kindest smiles were reserved just for him. He knew some people in town were only nice to him because he was the Mayor’s nephew, but he hoped Belle wasn’t one of them. Her kindness towards him seemed sincere anyway.  

He especially appreciated being around Belle because his Aunt Regina didn’t smile a lot. She did sometimes, but mostly when she was angry, which wasn’t a real smile and didn’t count. His Aunt Zelena smiled a lot, but they never felt genuine either. She was always trying too hard to be the ‘fun’ aunt. It was as if his love was never enough for her. Or like she was in some sort of competition with the rest of the town to make sure Gideon liked her best.

But it wasn’t a competition. Of course he loved them. They were the only family he had. But he couldn’t help but think sometimes, to himself, about what it would have been like to be raised by his mother and father. Other times, he wondered whether his Aunt Regina and Aunt Zelena were his aunts at all. They never talked about his parents. A ‘terrible accident’ was all they ever told him, and then they’d change the subject.   

Belle clutched the picture book she’d just been reading to the kids to her chest. “Did I ever tell you Gideon is the name of the character in my favorite book?”

He shook his head, eager to hear more. The idea of his name having special meaning to her thrilled him.

“It’s called _Her Handsome Hero_. My mother read it to be when I was young. It’s what made me fall in love with books. I still remember my favorite line.” She looked off in the distance, reciting, “‘But Gideon was unafraid. He drew his sword and turned to face the evil Sorcerer, ready to save the people he loved.’” Her focus returned to Gideon. “It’s about compassion and forgiveness.”  

He was intrigued, and surprised he hadn’t read it yet. He’d read every book in the library that Belle recommended to him. Also a few others he’d overheard her suggesting to other patrons. “Do you have it?”

Belle’s smile turned wistful, “No. I lost it somehow. Now it’s out of print and I can’t find any available copies.”

Gideon deflated a little. It was just as well. Gideon the brave. That wasn’t him. He could barely stand up to the bullies in his school. He wasn’t the hero from her book.  

“Although,” Belle perked up, “I got a new book you might be interested in.” He dodged some unattended toddlers and followed her to the circulation desk. She slid a large, old volume out from behind the desk and presented it to him. “Well, it’s not exactly new. Sometimes the best book has the dustiest jacket,” she laughed, brushing the cover. “I found it on the shelf this morning. I’d never noticed it before, but there it was! I must have walked past it thousands of times!” It was brown with gold lettering, _Once Upon a Time_.

Gideon was dubious and it must have shown on his face.

“Now I know you’re too old for fairy tales,” she spoke before he could say anything. “But I also know you like adventure stories, and I think this has some good ones in it,” she told him conspiratorially. She leaned her elbows on the counter, getting lost in her own words.“They’re stories about hope. And happy endings being something you never expected. And when you find something that's worth fighting for, you never give up.”  She spoke the last bit with great conviction.

This is how Belle was. You’d come in complaining about a book they were making you read in school and she’d make you see the good in it. Gideon couldn’t help but be intrigued. “Can...can I borrow this?”

“Of course,” she straightened.   

“I’ll return it promptly,” he promised.  

She shook her head, “No due date for my best patron,” and grinned at him. She turned away from him and busied herself at the desk, talking to other patrons and scanning the books they brought to the desk to borrow.

Gideon slid away from the desk and sat down at the nearest table with the book. He flipped through the browned pages randomly. He landed on _Beauty and the Beast_. The illustration opposite the story was of Beauty in a yellow ball gown with a head of tight brown ringlets. She was being led away by a man with scaly skin and feathers on his coat. He had a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Beauty had a look of grim determination.  

Gideon squinted at the depiction. It wasn’t just the brown hair. He knew lots of people had brown hair. He also knew plenty of people with blue eyes. But he could swear… “Miss French!” he blurted.

“Hmm?” she looked up from the book she was stamping.

“You’re in here,” he blurted, pointing to the page.  

She smiled indulgently, “I am?” She came around the desk and peered over his shoulder.

He felt stupid now, but he pointed at the image of Beauty anyway. It _did_ look like Miss French.

“Hmmm,” she mused, continuing to humor him. “I wonder where my Beast is?”


	3. Chapter 3

_The Dark Castle, Enchanted Forest_

Weeks had gone by and Rumpelstiltskin hadn’t shown the slightest interest in the girl. Except to dust his collection and launder his clothing. The threat had passed. She was just a maid and not another witch brought to the castle to replace her. Zelena had fancied herself to be the one to lounge next to the master of the house. She'd feed him straw as he spun at his wheel thinking up genius deals and magical potions. It turns out that was one of the girl’s duties. If she didn’t have anything else to do he even allowed her to recline near him reading a book. Like she was his guest and not the help! No matter. Zelena would have more important responsibilities as mistress of the Dark Castle.

Zelena strode through the halls of the Dark Castle. She did think of Rumpelstiltskin’s manor as her own. The Dark Castle was more of a home to her than her mother’s grand residence had ever been. That was very much Regina’s world. Zelena felt and was treated like an interloper. But here, with him, she was special. Needed. Desired.

With a little more time, Rumpelstiltskin would see how powerful she was. How he needed her for more than just a curse. He’d realize that he didn’t need the spell at all. The rest of the world could go hang. They could spend the rest of their lives here in the Dark Castle. Together.

She emerged into the great hall. Rumpelstiltskin sat pouring over scrolls. The girl hovered nearby, awaiting orders. She was still wearing that gaudy gold monstrosity of a dress.

Zelena sniffed. When she was mistress, this maid would serve them their meals and clean the Dark Castle in something more becoming of her current station. This girl was of no consequence now, and she’d be treated like it.

“Oh, girl,” Zelena announced her arrival. She shucked her heavy cape off and threw it at the maid, who struggled to catch it. “Hang that to dry for me,” she ordered. The girl gave a helpless look to Rumpelstiltskin, who waved her away without glancing up from his work. Zelena smirked as she watched the maid drag the cloak to another room.

She beheld Rumpelstiltskin sitting at his rightful place at the head of the table.

“I don’t remember summoning you for a lesson today.” He sounded admonishing but not displeased to see her.

Instead of answering, she slunk to the seat on the opposite side and slithered into it, just it try it out. He looked up at her quizzically, but didn’t object. They would have guests over on special occasions. While everyone feasted they’d catch each other’s eye across the vast expanse of table. They'd share an intimate knowing smile. It could be like this always. She and Rumpelstiltskin. He with his potions and scrolls, she his devoted mate, and the girl doing the chores.

“Will you have tea with me?” she asked in way of response.

He sighed. He must be exhausted from working so hard, she thought. He picked up his quill and began scratching at the parchment. She took that for a yes.

“Girl,” Zelena snapped her fingers, transporting the maid and making her appear at her elbow in a puff of smoke. The bewildered girl let out a little yelp, smoothing out her dress with her hands as if to make sure she was all there.

That got his attention. Rumpelstiltskin set his studies aside, focusing all his attention on Zelena. She smiled and felt herself blush under his intrigued gaze.

She cleared her throat. “Girl,” she announced, “fetch us tea.” The directive came out piercing but she’d have plenty of time to work on it. Rumpelstiltskin steepled his fingers and studied her over them.

The girl was still catching her breath from the scare Zelena had given her. She pulled herself together enough to nod and hurried away to the kitchens.

Zelena threw her hair over her shoulder. “Your maid could use some training. She sweeps like she’s never seen a broom before.”

“That’s rich, coming from you,” he replied, smiling at a joke only he understood.

The girl returned shortly, lugging a silver tray laden with white and blue china.

Preening under his admiration, Zelena sent a zap of magic at the tray to make it wobble in the girl’s hands. The maid struggled to keep from dropping it. To anyone watching it would look like the girl was exceptionally clumsy.

The tray finally made it to the table. She then struggled to lift the heavy teapot and pour without slopping all over the table. Grasping the cup in both hands, she moved to serve Rumpelstiltskin first. Zelena sent another shot at the back of the girl’s voluminous dress. The girl gasped, releasing the cup and allowing it to crash to the floor.

Zelena struggled to keep from cackling out loud.

The maid knelt down, struggling to balance in her vast skirt. “Oh. I’m so sorry but it’s…it’s chipped,” her meek voice pleaded. She grimaced, “You can hardly see it.”

Zelena’s eyes alighted on Rumpelstiltskin. He loved his things and he was quick to anger when people destroyed his belongings. She’d once shattered a useless and ugly vase while practicing her magic and he didn’t summon her again for two weeks. She sat back, prepared to watch him unleash his wrath on the tiny clueless girl.

“It’s just a cup,” he replied flippantly.

Zelena’s jaw dropped. His look softened to that curious scrutiny she was always seeking from him.

He jerked back his chair, “I’ll be in my study and I am not to be disturbed.” He swept out of the room.

Zelena searched the table helplessly. What had just happened? She needed to take back control. She was going to show him exactly what they could have together. “Girl,” Zelena called, beckoning her forward. “Do you know how to make a meat pie?”

The maid looked at her blankly.

“Of course you don’t,” Zelena huffed. It was obvious by her dress and inability to respond immediately when commanded that this girl was formerly a princess. Everything had been done for her her entire life. A spoiled little rich girl being waited on hand and foot by daddy’s many servants. Like Regina, this girl didn’t know what hard work was. Not like Zelena. Only she and Rumpelstiltskin knew what it was like to struggle. To not get handed everything on a literal silver platter.

“Come,” she commanded, motioning for the girl to follow her to the kitchens. She’d make him the feast she’d been daydreaming about. Starting with the meat pie his aunts made when he was a boy. Well, the maid would make it, but she’d take the credit. He’d associate his happiest memory with Zelena now.

The girl dutifully wrote down Zelena’s instructions.

“A dessert won’t be necessary,” she advised the maid. “He doesn’t have a sweet tooth.”

The girl peeked up from her notes. “Yes, he does.”

Zelena balked.

“Haven’t you noticed? He always swipes at the icing of cakes with his finger like a little boy.” The girl acted _amused_ by this. As if she didn’t fear him at all.

Zelena fumed. No, she had _not_ noticed that. And who was this girl to giggle at the Dark One?

“Have it all prepared for the day after tomorrow,” Zelena hissed. That wiped the smile off the girl’s face. She snapped her into action, scurrying around the kitchen for supplies.

There. That was settled then.

***

Zelena sat at the vanity in her mother’s house brushing her hair. Tonight would be the big reveal of the meal she’d planned for Rumpelstiltskin. Regina, unfortunately, would be there because of their lessons. Maybe she could be persuaded to eat in the kitchens with the maid. She heard a ruckus at the front window and Regina entered.

“What was that?” Zelena asked.

“A raven,” she replied offhandedly. “Training is canceled today. Apparently the maid freed a prisoner.”

Zelena’s heart sank. All her well laid plans, gone to waste over that dumb little trollop! The first thing she was going to do when she became mistress of the castle was throw that good for nothing girl to the ogres!

“He stole something from the castle,” Regina continued. “They’re going in pursuit.”

Her heart immediately lifted. Oh, the foolish gullible girl was going to pay now. Rumpelstiltskin hated his things being toyed with. But nothing enraged him more than someone stealing from him. And it was all the maid’s fault. If that little girl wasn’t frightened of him before, she would be terrified, or possibly dead, now.


End file.
